Battery bulb connection for flashlights



July 16, 1963 D. F. MosMAN BATTERY BULB CONNECTION FOR FLASHLIGHTS FiledJuly 1e, 1959 ATTOR YS.

United Statesv Patent C 3,097,799 BATTERY BULB CONNECTION FORFLASHLIGHTS Donald F. Mosman, 14 Wellsville Ave., New Milford, Conn.Filed July 16, 1959, Ser. No. 827,471 2 Claims. (Cl. 240--10.66)

This invention relates generally .to portable dry cell battery-poweredflashlights, Aand more particularly to imr proved batte-1y bulbconnections in such flashlights.

In most known dry cell battery-powered ashlights, the usual flashlightbulb has a central terminal which is in engagement with the llat top ofa terminal of the usual dry cell battery, and the battery is ratherloosely received in the flash light casing; When Ithese flashlights aretransported in an automobile or truck, as ,they frequently are,particularly when placed on the iloor thereof or some other fiat surfacetherein, they have a tendency to slide or roll around during movement ofIthe vehicle and this causes lateral shifting of the battery. As -aresult of this action, the central terminal of the bulb is subjected toharmful abrasion from the battery terminal and this ultimatelyincapacitates it. In addition to such undesirable abrasive action, .thebulbs central terminal is likely to Islide off the battery terminal andthereby disrupt the circuitry. In either event, the flashlight isrendered inoperative, and this is bothersome and a distinct deficiencyin known dry cell battery-powered flashlights.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved flashlightwhe-rein the above set forth deficiency of known ashlights of this typeis eliminated.

The object of the invention is 'accomplished in one form by providing ina dry cell battery-powered flashlight an improv-ed connection betweenthe usual central terminal of the flashlight bulb and the usu-al batteryterminal. The principal distinguishing aspect of the improved connectionresides lin the utilization of means for the battery terminal whichincludes a recess that cooperatively receives the central terminal ofthe bulb and cooperates therewith .to the end of eliminating any lateralmovement of the battery relative to the bulbs central terminal.

The above and other objects and further details of that which I believeto be novel and my invention will be clear from the followingdescription and claims taken with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view with portions broken away and shown`in section for clarity, of a flashlight which incorporates one form ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of one of the parts of the improved connectionshowing lan associated part in dotted l-ines at one `stage in assembly;

=FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;FIG. 4 Iis a fragmentary sectional View taken centrally through aflashlight which incorporates another form of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary partial side elevational view and partialsectional view of a dry cell b-atte-ry and another form of improvedconnection, and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary partial -side elevational view and partialsectional view of a dry cell battery and another form of improvedconnection.

In FIG. l there is illustrated a dry cell battery-powered flashlightwhich lis generally indicated by reference numeral 10 and whichincorporates the preferred form of the invention. Except for theimproved connection between the central terminal of the flashlight bulband the battery terminal, flashlight 10 may take any conventional form.Some conventional elements of known flashlights are not illustrated,such as .the details of the circuitry and the switch, for the sake ofconvenience. It is intended that the improved bulb central terminal andbattery terminal connection be utilized in any suitable knownllashlight, :and therefore, any omitted conventional elements should beassumed to be included in the disclosure.

The flashlight 10 comprises a generally tubular casing 12 having aradially enlarged head 14 which is threaded at its upper extremity 16(as viewed in FIG. l). Detachably secured to the threaded casing end 16is a top cap 18 which includes a large central opening 20, through whichlight may pass, and -a 'threaded skirt 22 which cooperates with thethreaded casing end 1-6 to detachably mount the .top cap on the casing.The top cap 18 captures adiskslike lens 24, which may be glass orplastic, in operative position between the upper end edge of the casing12 and the top cap, and the stress of this connection is absorbed byannular resilient gasket 26. The lower end 28 of the casing 12 (asviewed in FIG. 1) is threaded and detachably receives a base cap 30which includes a threaded skirt 32 which cooperates with the threadedcasing end 28 to detachably mount lthe base cap on the casing.

Within the casing 12 in the head 14 thereof there is positioned adome-shaped reflector 34 havin-g a threaded central coll-ar 36. Aflashlight bulb 38 having the usual threaded base 4i) and centralterminal 42 is detachably threadedly mounted in the col-lar 36. A drycell battery 44 having a terminal 46 in the form of a .projecting postis disposed with-in the casing 12. The battery 44 may be of theconventional dry cell type which includes a cylindrical body 48,Although only one battery is illustrated, it should be clear-lyunderstood that flashlights which include a plurality of batteries mayhave my invention incorporated into them. The flat base Si) of thebattery 44 is contacted by a coiled battery/positioning spring 52 whichconventionally is rigidly secured to the bottom cap 30 [and usuallyfunctions to bias the liashlight battery into con-tact with the centralterminal of the liashlight bulb.

With the foregoing conventional arrangement, in the absence of myinvention, the battery terminal 46 would normally be biased into directcontact with the bulbs central terminal `42 by the battery-positioningspring 52. Also, in the absence of my invention, the battery 44 islikely -to be very loosely received in casing 12 so that an annularspace, which is indicated in FIG. l by reference character S, is formedbetween the battery body and the casing. As -Was pointed out in theintroduction to this specification, in this conventional setting, duringuse of the flashlight, particularly in environments where it is likelyto roll or slide about, the flashlight battery has a tendency to shiftlaterally and cause undesirable abrasion of the bulbs central termin-aland/or sliding of the battery ter-minal olf of the bulbs centralterminal. The latter ultimately results in incapacitation of theflashlight and is a serious deficiency.

My invention eliminates this deficiency in known flashlights byproviding `an improved connection between the bulbs central terminal`42, and the battery terminal 46. In the preferred FIG. l form of theinvention, the improved connection is effected by utilizing 4a connector54 alone or along With a spacer 56. The connector 54 comprises ametallic electrical conducting member having a central disk-like portion58 with an axially extending peripheral flange 60 formed on one sidethereof yand an axially extending central tubular col-lar 62 formed onthe other side thereof. 'Ihe tubular collar 62 is flared outwardly toform `a tapered seat `64 for receiving the bulbs central terminal =42.As can best be seen in FIG. l, the flange 60 telescopes over the batteryterminal 46; the flange 60 preferably has 'a frictional fit with thebattery terminal 46. Also, as can be seen in FIG. 1, the bulbs centralterminal 42 is disposed in the seat 64 and is in contact with collar`62. In this regard, the contact between the terminal 42 and collar 62is firm as a result of the bias between these parts caused by the spring52.

Use of the connector `54 alone results in substantial elimination of thedeficiency of known flashlights set forth above, for it will be observedthat with the battery 44 biased by the battery positioning spring S2 inthe direction of and against the bulb 38, a firm coritact beween thebulbs central terminal l42 and the connector seat 64 results whichsubstantially precludes the possibility of lateral shifting of thebattery relative to` the bulb. If the connector 54 is utilized alone, itis formed and mounted as illustrated in FIG. 1, but the spacer 56 iseliminated.

If it is desired to further enhance the connection between the bulb andbattery by entirely eliminating all possibility of lateral shifting ofthe battery 44 relative to the casing 12, the spacer 56 may be utilized.The spacer 56 comprises an inverted cup-shaped member that is made of asuitable plastic or other electrical insulating material. Spacer 56includes a disk-like flat Wall 66 and a peripheral cylindrical axiallyextending portion 68. When the flashlight is fully assembled, .asillustrated in FIG. 1, the spacer S6 has an opening 70 which surrounds aportion of the collar 62 of the connector S4 and a portion of thespacers flat wall 66 is contiguous with the disk-like portion S of theconnector 54. When the flashlight is fully assembled, the portion 68 ofthe spacer 56 is disposed in the space S and substantially fills up thisspace. When both the connector 54 and spacer 56 are utilized asillustrated in FIG. 1, a superb connection between the -bulbs centralterminal and the battery terminal is effected. However, if desired, onlythe connector 54 need be employed.

To assemble the connector 54 and spacer 56, if both are utilized, theconnector is originally provided, as can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3,without the flare on the tubular collar 62. At this stage of assembly,the collar 62 is cylindrical. The cylindrical collar 62 is passedthrough the opening 70 in the spacer wall 66, and thereafter expanded toform the flare illustrated in FIG. 1 thereby forming `a unitaryspacer-connector sub-assembly. After the spacer-connector sub-assemblyis made, it is telescoped over the top of the battery casing 48 so as tohave the connector flange `60 frictionally telescoped on the Ibatteryterminal -46 prior to inserting the battery 44 into the flashlightcasing 12. The telescoped battery and spacer-connector sub-assembly isthen inserted into the flashlight casing 12 through the open casing endZ8 and the cap 30 is secured to the casing in the usual manner,resulting in the FIG. 1 orientation of parts.

In FIG. 4 there is illustrated 1a flashlight which incorporates anotherform of the invention. Parts of the flashlight illustrated in FIG. 4which correspond to parts illustrated in FIG. 1, are indicated by thesame reference numerals with a prime added. In FIG. 4 the improvedconnection for the bulbs central terminal 42 and the battery terminal 46is effected by a connector 72 which comprises a cap-like member that isformed out of sheet metal, that has a cylindrical flange 74 thattelescopes over the battery terminal 46' and frictionally seats thereon,and that includes a flat wall '7 6 having a central depression 78 whichdefines a recess for receiving the bulbs central terminal 42'. Thefunctioning of the connector 72 when fully assembled with the battery 44in a flashlight is substantially the same as that of the connector 54 inthe FIG. 1 form of the invention. If desired, the connector 72 may besubstituted for the usual metallic cap which usually is mounted on theusual carbon post-like terminal of conventional dry cell batteries.

In FIG. 5 there is illustratedanother form of connector which iscontemplated by the invention. Connector 80 comprises a body 82 of metalhaving a recess 84 formed in one side thereof and a peripheralcylindrical flange 86 on the other side thereof which frictionally'telescopes the terminal 88 of the battery 9G. The recess 84 and flange86 may be formed by cutting away material out of the body 82. Thefunctioning of the connector 8f) after its construction and yassembly inthe completed flashlight along with the battery 90l is substantially thesame as that of the connectors 54 and 72 of the first two forms of theinvention disclosed, it being understood in this connection that theconnector recess 84 receives the central terminal of a flashlight bulb.

In FIG. 6 there is illustrated another form of connector which iscontemplated -by the invention. Connector 92 comprises a mass of metal,such as solder, which is built up on the terminal 94 of the battery 96.The connector 92 includes recess 98, which may be formed by a cuttingoperation, for receiving the central terminal of a flashlight bulb. Itshould be understood that the connector 92 functions in the same generalmanner as the connectors 54, 72 and S0 when the battery 96 is fullyassembled in a flashlight.

In View of the foregoing it should be apparent that I have provided fanimproved connection between the central terminal of a flashlight bulband a battery terminal which prevents relative lateral shifting of theseparts and yet provides for their proper electrical connection. Therehave been disclosed several alternative structural forms of theinvention. In this regard, it should be realized that spacers generallycorresponding to the spacer 56 in the FIG. 1 form of the invention maybe utilized with the FIGS. 4, 5, or 6 forms of the invention. It alsoshould be understood that the connector 54 of the FIG. 1 form of theinvention may be utilized alone or in combination with the spacer 56, asdesired. All of the connectors are predicated on the same basicinventive concept of providing means including a recess in associationwith a conventional dry cell battery terminal for cooperation with theconventional central terminal of a flashlight bulb, which functions toprovide an improved connection between the bulb and battery thateliminates relative lateral shifting of these components. The FIGS. l, 4and 5 forms of the invention possess the advantage that their connectorsare separable elements which are operatively associated with existingbatteries simply by sliding theim on the existing battery terminal. Inthe FIG. 6 form of the invention, it is necessary to integrally form theconnector on the battery terminal by deposition thereon, as bysoldering.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of myinvention are not limited to the particular details of construction ofthe examples illustrated, and I contempla-te that various and othermodifications and applications will occur to those skilled in the ant.It is, therefore, my intention that the appended claims shall cover suchmodifications and applications as do not depart from the true spirit andscope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A standard battery powered portable flashlight comprising: aconventional cylindrical casing; a conventional bulb disposed within andsupported by said casing and having `a central terminal; a conventionalcylindrical battery in said casing having a terminal; means for biasingsaid battery terminal toward said central terminal; said terminals beingdisposed so as to be spaced within said casing tout of contact with theinner walls thereof and mounted so that there is normally slight lateralplay between them; a rigid unitary connector disposed within said casingout of contact with the inner walls thereof, made of electricalconducting material and interposed between and in direct contact withboth of said terminals for at yall times effecting electrical connectionof said terminals, said connector having a recess for receiving saidcentral terminal; and ya cup-shaped spacerr made of electricalinsulating material secured to said connector to form a separatelyhandled unit therewith, said spacer having a cylindrical portiontelescoped on said battery and disposed between and in substantialcontact with said battery and the inner walls of said casing, wherebysaid connector and spacer unfit is operative to pnevent relative lateralmovement of said terminals and thereby eliminate the play between themthat would otherwise exist in the absence of the connector land spacerunit.

2. A flashlight `as doned in claim 1 wherein said connector includes .acylindrical ange which telescopically lits on said battery terminal.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSFOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain July 26, 1938

1. A STANDARD BATTERY POWERED PORTABLE FLASHLIGHT COMPRISING: ACONVENTIONAL CYLINDRICAL CASING; A CONVENTIONAL BULD DISPOSED WITHIN ANDSUPPORTED BY SAID CASING AND HAVING A CENTRAL TERMINAL; A CONVENTIONALCYLINDRICAL BATTERY IN SAID CASING HAVING A TERMINAL; MEANS FOR BIASINGSAID BATTERY TERMINAL TOWARD SAID CENTRAL TERMINAL; SAID TERMINALS BEINGDISPOSED SO AS TO BE SPACED WITHIN SAID CASING OUT OF CONTACT WITH THEINNER WALLS THEREOF AND MOUNTED SO THAT THERE IS NORMALLY SLIGHT LATERALPLAY BETWEEN THEM; A RIGID UNITARY CONNECTOR DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CASINGOUT OF CONTACT WITH THE INNER WALLS THEREOF, MADE OF ELECTRICALCONDUCTING MATERIAL AND INTERPOSED BETWEEN AND IN DIRECT CONTACT WITHBOTH OF SAID TERMINALS